Severe environmental damage in Gaza ^{CEFR B1}

A ceasefire was finally signed and humanitarian organisations are scaling up operations to reach families facing famine after nearly two years of bombardment and blockade. Masum Mahbub, CEO of Human Concern USA, describes the destruction as one of the most severe environmental disasters of the 21st century and argues the damage is not only collateral but systematic, calling it ecocide aimed at making the land uninhabitable.

Before the recent campaign, Gaza had rooftop solar panels and plans to manage scarce water and adapt to warming. Mahbub says these gains have been erased. He points to the annihilation of nearly 70 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land, the razing of olive groves, the obliteration of water pipelines and the destruction of all five wastewater treatment plants. Pumping seawater into underground tunnels risks saline poisoning of Gaza’s only significant aquifer, the primary source of drinking water for over two million people. Bombs that hit rooftop solar arrays have cut off independent electricity for homes and hospitals.

The conflict produced an estimated 281,000 metric tons of CO₂ in the first 60 days, and Mahbub says over 99 percent of these emissions are attributable to Israel’s aerial and ground operations. Rebuilding an estimated 100,000 destroyed buildings could release an additional 30 million metric tons of CO₂. He links environmental damage to food security: farms destroyed, 70 percent of the fishing fleet annihilated, and water sources contaminated with 130,000 cubic meters of raw sewage daily. He also warns of 37 million tons of toxic rubble, unexploded ordnance, contaminated air and tens of thousands of bodies under rubble, and calls for a global effort and environmental decontamination to restore water, soil and public health.